Egypt police says it has arrested journalist days after series of critical articles

CAIRO – Egypt has arrested a journalist on claims he is wanted in seven different cases — just days after he published a series of critical articles about the police.

The country's Ministry of Interior announced Sunday in a statement on its Facebook page that Hussein Abdel Halim, a journalist for the privately-owned Dostour newspaper, was arrested Saturday as part of a routine round-up of fugitives. The statement claimed Abdel Halim is wanted for multiple cases dating back to 2003, including drugs, theft and bribery.

The statement also requested that the Public Prosecutor launch an investigation related to Abdel Halim's recent series of articles critical of the security apparatus. A recent multi-part investigative series by a team supervised by Abdel Halim alleged widespread corruption and abuse of power.

An evolving crackdown on dissent in Egypt has landed thousands of government critics behind bars and silenced many critical voices.